Descript
Edit video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI audio cleanup and clips
4.0(1 review)Freemium
Synthesia
Create narrated business videos from text with AI avatars in 140+ languages
Freemium
Verdict
Descript and Synthesia are both Video AI tools. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Descript is available on Windows and macOS.
Best overall
Synthesia
- Learning and development teams
- HR teams
- Sales enablement teams
- Marketing teams
Choose Descript if
- You want a tool built for podcast editing.
- Editing by transcript makes cutting speech content faster than a timeline alone.
- Studio Sound, filler word removal and retake removal are built in.
Choose Synthesia if
- You want a tool built for corporate training videos.
- Free Basic plan with 10 minutes of video or dubbing per month.
- 140+ languages for voiceovers and translation.
- Best for beginners
- Synthesia
- Best for business
- Descript
Features
18 features compared.
- Text-based editingDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- UnderlordDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- Studio SoundDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- Filler word and retake removalDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- AI speech and voice clonesDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- Create clipsDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- RecordingDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- Translation and dubbingDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- Generation toolsDescriptAvailableSynthesiaNot available
- API and MCPDescriptAvailableSynthesiaAvailable
- AI avatarsDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- Text, document and PowerPoint to videoDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- 140+ languagesDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- Video dubbing and translationDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- Interactive videosDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- SessionsDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- Brand controls and collaborationDescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
- SCORM export and SSODescriptNot availableSynthesiaAvailable
Pricing
Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.
- Pricing modelDescriptFreemiumSynthesiaFreemium
- Free planDescriptYesSynthesiaYes
- Starting priceDescript$0Synthesia$0
- PlansDescript5 plansSynthesia4 plans
Descript plans
Free
$0
1 media hour per month and 100 one-time AI credits
- Text-based editing
- Limited AI tools
- 720p export with watermark
- 5GB storage
Hobbyist
$24/user/mo
10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month, 1 person
- Underlord access
- Studio Sound
- Remove filler words
- Create clips
- AI speech with voice clones
- 1080p export without watermark
- 100GB storage
Creator
Most popular$35/user/mo
30 media hours and 800 AI credits per month, up to 3 seats
- Full Underlord
- 20+ AI tools
- AI video generation
- Unlimited stock library
- Top-ups
- 4K export
- 1TB storage
Business
$65/user/mo
40 media hours and 1,500 AI credits per month, up to 5 seats
- Brand Studio
- Translation and dubbing in 30+ languages
- Custom avatars
- Top-ups
- Priority support with SLA
- 4K export
- 2TB storage
Enterprise
Custom/custom
Contact sales; media minutes and AI credits sized to the team
- SSO and SCIM
- SOC 2 Type II
- Audit logs
- Custom data retention
- Custom legal terms
- Dedicated customer success manager
Synthesia plans
Basic
$0
Free allowance of 10 minutes of video creation or dubbing, 3 survey responses and 500 credits per month
- 10 minutes of video or dubbing
- 500 credits
- Pre-built templates
- Share by link
- Synthesia watermark
Starter
$29/month
1,250 credits per month, billed monthly
- Download videos
- Remove Synthesia logo
- AI Video Assistant
- Survey analytics
- 3 guests
- 125+ stock avatars
- Chat and email support
Pro
Most popular$89/month
6,000 credits per month, billed monthly, with larger credit tiers available
- Everything in Starter
- 5 Personal Avatars
- Branded video pages
- Interactive videos
- 5 guests
- 180+ stock avatars
- Priority support
Enterprise
Custom/custom
Custom credit volumes, contact sales
- Everything in Pro
- Unlimited Personal Avatars
- SAML/SSO
- Live team collaboration
- Brand Kits
- SCORM export
- 240+ stock avatars
- Dedicated customer success manager
Our ratings
Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.
- Descript
- 8.5overall
- Synthesia
- 8.6overall
Descript leads in 0 categories and Synthesia in 1, with 1 tied.
Text-Based Media Editing
- Descript
- 9.4
- Synthesia
- Not rated
Studio Sound Enhancement
- Descript
- 8.6
- Synthesia
- Not rated
Ease of Use
Tied- Descript
- 8.8
- Synthesia
- 8.8
Feature Breadth
- Descript
- 8.4
- Synthesia
- Not rated
Value for Money
Synthesia leads by 0.2- Descript
- 7.3
- Synthesia
- 7.5
Avatar Quality
- Descript
- Not rated
- Synthesia
- 8.5
Language Support
- Descript
- Not rated
- Synthesia
- 9.0
Enterprise Readiness
- Descript
- Not rated
- Synthesia
- 9.0
Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.
Pros and cons
Descript
Pros
- Editing by transcript makes cutting speech content faster than a timeline alone
- Studio Sound, filler word removal and retake removal are built in
- Includes recording, transcription, captions and clip creation in one app
- Free plan available with no credit card required
- API and MCP server allow automated editing
- SOC 2 Type II and SSO or SCIM on Enterprise
Cons
- Free plan exports 720p with a watermark and allows only 1 media hour per month
- Paid prices are $24 to $65 per month on monthly billing, with annual billing needed for the lowest rates
- Media hours and AI credits are capped, with top-ups only on Creator and above
- Desktop app needs macOS 14 or Windows 11 and there is no listed mobile app
Synthesia
Pros
- Free Basic plan with 10 minutes of video or dubbing per month
- 140+ languages for voiceovers and translation
- Turns prompts, documents and PowerPoint files into editable videos
- Interactive videos, roleplay and survey Sessions beyond standard video
- Enterprise features include SAML/SSO and SCORM export, and a public API is available
Cons
- Free plan videos carry a watermark and cannot be downloaded
- SCORM export, SAML/SSO and Brand Kits are limited to Enterprise
- Credit-based plans are hard to forecast because usage depends on the content of each video
- No mobile app found in the App Store
Platforms
- WebDescriptSupportedSynthesiaSupported
- WindowsDescriptSupportedSynthesiaNot supported
- macOSDescriptSupportedSynthesiaNot supported
- iOSDescriptNot supportedSynthesiaNot supported
- AndroidDescriptNot supportedSynthesiaNot supported
- APIDescriptSupportedSynthesiaSupported
- Browser ExtensionDescriptNot supportedSynthesiaNot supported
Integrations
Descript
No integrations listed.
Synthesia
4 integrations- PowerPoint
- SCORM
- Claude
- ChatGPT
Company
- CompanyDescriptDescriptSynthesiaSynthesia Ltd
- FoundedDescript2017Synthesia2017
- HeadquartersDescriptSan Francisco, CASynthesiaLondon, UK
- ListingDescriptClaimedSynthesiaClaimed
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Frequently asked questions
Is Descript better than Synthesia?
It depends on your workflow. Descript is built for podcast editing. Synthesia is built for corporate training videos.
What are the key feature differences between Descript and Synthesia?
Descript: Edit video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI audio cleanup and clips. Synthesia: Create narrated business videos from text with AI avatars in 140+ languages. Descript is rated 4.0/5 from 1 user review.
Does Descript or Synthesia have a free plan?
Yes, both do. Descript is freemium and Synthesia is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.
Which is cheaper, Descript or Synthesia?
Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.